Utah AG Shurtleff Praises New Reporter’s Privilege Rule

January 24, 2008 -- Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff is giving high praise today to the Utah Supreme Court for adopting the state’s first reporter privilege rule. The Utah Supreme Court adopted the draft of Rule 509 Reporter Privilege, a proposal that had been supported by the Attorney General. Shurtleff has been working with legislators, prosecutors, journalists and the Supreme Court for the past two and a half years to come up with a workable and reasonable rule that would allow reporters to protect confidential informants. The Attorney General released the following statement today about the ruling:

“Today is a banner day for the First Amendment in Utah. A strong new evidentiary rule protecting the confidentiality of a reporter’s sources will ensure the free flow of information which is so essential to open government and a democratic society. A half-century before the Bill of Rights, John Peter Zenger so firmly believed in the importance of a free press that he was willing to be jailed rather than reveal his sources. He recognized that if concerned citizens could not reveal certain actions of their government, without fear of retribution, then no one would come forward and the free flow of information would be lost. A jury acquitted him based on his attorney Andrew Hamilton’s impassioned defense of the “right of liberty of both exposing and opposing arbitrary power…by speaking and writing truth.” This new “reporter’s privilege” is similar to other types of privileged communication (i.e. attorney-client, doctor-patient and priest-penitent,) and gives reporters and potential sources the confidence that their communications will be protected---which will encourage those with important information of wrong-doing to bring it to light. Utah’s rule also recognizes and protects law enforcement’s need, upon a proper showing, to obtain evidence of criminal conduct so as to best protect the public. I congratulate the media, law enforcement and the Supreme Court and members of its Evidentiary Committee for working together so effectively in crafting a model privilege that protects freedom and democracy. As stated by the Supreme Court in Time, Inc. v. Hill, the guarantee of a free press is ‘not for the benefit of the press so much as for the benefit of all of us.’”

The new rule allows a reporter to refuse to disclose confidential source information unless there is “clear and convincing evidence that disclosure is necessary to prevent substantial injury or death.”

The rule also allows a reporter to protect unpublished notes and unpublished information from a confidential source unless it is shown the need for the information “outweighs the interest of a continued free flow of information to news reporters.”

Anyone seeking information under the new rule can ask a judge to conduct a private “in camera” review of the information to determine whether or not the information should be disclosed.

The rule will not become effective until it is signed by Utah Supreme Court Chief Justice Christine M. Durham.

Source: Utah Attorney General

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